Meeting Her Match
by MaraLSky
Summary: Siuan and Gareth play a game of stones. Set during LoC.


For the sixth time that night, Siuan Sanche felt her eyelids threatening to droop close. And for the sixth time that night, she was wishing the bloody man would hurry up and make his move.

It had been a fortnight since Gareth Bryne had first ordered her to remain in his room after she had finished blacking his boots. For one ludicrous moment, Siuan had thought the man was actually going to take advantage of his authority over her and demand her to—she quickly shut the thought firmly out, feeling her cheeks heating. No, the thought of taking advantage of a maidservant would never so much as pass through the lummox's thick skull. Such a thought would be far too _dishonorable_ for the proud, stubborn man to consider even if said maidservant _wanted_ to be taken advantage of—

Siuan frowned. Where had that thought come from? Probably from Leane's Domani nonsense. Siuan hadn't actually _seen_ the woman trying to seduce Bryne, but that didn't mean she hadn't tried. Not that Bryne gave Leane much chance to do so. No, he was far too busy making sure that Siuan was blacking his boots, polishing his saddle, making his bed, washing his shirts and—

And playing stones with him.

Admittedly, this particular…chore…was not nearly as onerous as most. At times, she almost forgot she was often scooped up and sat forcibly in a chair in front of the small, rickety table that held the board. Bryne, being the famed strategist that he was, was more than a worthy opponent for Siuan. As much as she hated to admit it, Bryne currently had at least a half dozen wins on her.

Siuan's felt herself become more alert at that irritating mental admission. She glanced down at the board. They hadn't been playing this round very long—their pieces were still more or less confined to their respective sides of the board. And yet this game wasn't going to go anywhere with the time he was taking to plot his next move. "Are you waiting for your pieces to move themselves, Gareth Bryne?" she growled, shifting on her chair.

His eyes lifted to meet hers. Without a word, and without shifting his gaze from her, he moved one of his pieces forward into the middle of the board,

She narrowed her eyes, leaning over the board in concentration. The fool man had moved his piece into a place where in two or three moves she could take at least three of his stones. Yet… She could feel his eyes on the top of her head. This was not some arrogant White Sitter who had come into the Amyrlin's office for a chat over a game of stones, blinded by her own logic. This was Gareth Bryne, former Captain-General of Andor, a man who had, against all odds, managed to put the pompous and proud Aes Sedai of Salidar in their place enough to maintain quite a bit of control over the army he was building while still obtaining that which he had come here seeking—her, Leane and Min. Siuan's frown deepened. Privately, she doubted that Leane and Min had anything to do with his presence here. For whatever reason, Gareth Bryne had followed Siuan Sanche—then under the alias of Mara Tomanes—halfway across the continent. Siuan just wished she understood _why_.

_Focus_, she chided herself. The late hour was getting to her. She was playing stones with Gareth bloody Bryne, a renowned general. Her eyes followed the pieces, imagining the decisions that she and Bryne would likely make in the next few minutes in regards to the small circles on the checkered board. Five…six moves…there. He would have trapped her, forced her to crown his piece and in the process give him at least four of her stones. She kept her snort to herself as she laid a finger on a piece on the board, contemplating if that might just be what he wanted her to do. She could see nothing he could do in the immediate future with that. She raised her eyes back to his as she moved the piece forward.

There was no sign of disappointment. There never was, when she bested him. The corners of his mouth turned up, forming a smile that made Siuan's pulse quicken. Light, she hated the pleasant flutter that coursed through her veins when he seemed pleased at something she had done. She had come to dread the moments after she bested him in stones. Yet dread them she might, her competitive nature would not allow her to give anything but her best when she played the game with him.

Siuan took a deep breath, stifling the pleasure she felt at his admiration. Better to continue pine for the sweetness of _saidar_ than to give into the man's…the man's what? Bryne had made no advances. He had not tried to offer himself to the Aes Sedai as a husband for her or Leane. There were plenty of sisters who would jump at the offer if he had. He simply forced her to perform every chore imaginable for him and kept her up nearly until dawn, forcing her to play game after game of stones, until she passed out from exhaustion onto the board. He would then coax her back into her, Leane and Min's room, forcing her to endure their curious—and at times suggestive—stares in the morning.

Yes, they had laughed when she finally told them the truth of her late night's with Bryne. Leane had seemed almost disappointed. "May the Light blind all Domani women," Siuan muttered under her breath. It slipped out before she could stop herself.

Bryne glanced back up at her. "I'm sorry, Siuan. I didn't catch that." His fingers moved to touch a piece, but he quickly pulled them back, apparently seeing the trap she had laid for him.

Her mouth tightened. That particular trap had stumped even Moiraine before she had caught on. It had taken at least fifty games for her late friend to see it and twenty more for her to figure out how to counter it. Bryne had fallen for it exactly twice. "Never you mind. Just play the bloody game so I can get some sleep! Codswallop, can't one of your men amuse you with a game instead of me for once?" She would have to create a new trap, one that would ensnare Bryne so thoroughly that he could never recover.

He didn't answer immediately, but moved one of his pieces to flank her main force. Then he sat back in his chair, meeting her eyes. "Sheriam and the others approached me this afternoon while you were washing." Siuan arched an eyebrow at him. What were those women up to now? Bryne was quite willing to share with her that of the sisters' schemes that he was able to pick up on. Which was, to his credit, quite a number of them. "They wanted to know if I knew of a man who would be a suitable husband for you."

Siuan stiffened. She had been waiting for that—waiting for them to start actively searching for someone with whom to marry her off. Only she had been expected to be rudely awakened one morning to be led out to a ceremony led by Sheriam or one of the others in their accursed little council to meet the man she would be forced into marrying. She had not expected to hear of it first from Bryne. Siuan kept her voice calm—she owned it to him to keep her temper in check for warning her. However if he had made a suggestion… "And what did you tell them? Can I expect to be carried off to one of your soldier's tents for my wedding night by sundown tomorrow?" A surge of panic seized her at that thought and some of her temper slipped by. "Fish guts! Tell me what you said, man!"

Bryne shook his head. "No, Siuan. There will be no wedding night for you tomorrow, I'm afraid." He smiled at her, eyes twinkling with amusement and…fondness. That was the only word Siuan could summon to describe the expression on his face. She felt her stomach flutter again, but she ignored it. "I have neither a soldier brave enough nor intelligent enough to take you as his wife. A lesser man would not give you what the sisters believe you need and there is none in my command who come close to being your equal." Then his expression became stern. "Besides, you are mine until your debt is paid. You gave your word, and I wouldn't let you go for a king's ransom."

Her eyes widened with indignation, but she kept her teeth clenched shut and instead attended to her force of game pieces. Siuan had been around Aes Sedai—and had been one herself—long enough to know when someone was not telling the whole truth and Bryne was definitely holding something back. What that was, however, she couldn't begin to guess. At least she was assured that there would be no groom awaiting her come morning. "I owe you my thanks, Gareth." The gratitude came unwillingly; the back of her throat felt as if the words had been pried out with a crowbar and hammer. "Even washing your smallclothes is preferable to being married off to some mangy half-wit who can barely tell one end of his sword from the other."

To her surprise, Bryne chuckled. He usually didn't take kindly to insults directed at his men. He looked at her thoughtfully, rubbing his chin with one hand as he did so. The evening stubble on his chin added an intriguing ruggedness to his features. "Siuan, I assure you if the Aes Sedai ever were to convince me to find you a husband, he would be an excellent swordsman. No less than a blademaster would be suitable for you."

She captured one of his stones, setting her own down with a loud clatter as she did so. "So long as you're not training a new batch of swordsmen with that very idea in mind," she replied dryly. Siuan leaned back in her chair, keeping her face smooth as she did so. "That army of yours is meant to retake the White Tower, not for the purpose of finding me a husband that I didn't ask for, Gareth Byrne."

He laughed again, a deep, booming laugh. "No worries, Siuan. The Greens snatch up my best swordsmen for Warders faster than I can train them." Siuan frowned as he captured three of her pieces with one swift movement of his hand. "Crown me," he declared as he sat the piece on her side of the board, accidently brushing her hand in the process. She jerked her hand back reflectively, and then snatched one of his captured pieces up to set it grudgingly upon his suddenly exalted game piece. He pulled his own hand back, resting it on the edge of the table. "That Myrelle continues to hound me about becoming a Warder."

Siuan felt a sudden spike of anger, as sharp as it was unexpected. Unable to find a logical cause for it, she focused it on his newly crowned stone. She moved one piece just so, to begin rallying against it. "I don't see why she would," Siuan said with a sniff. "The woman has three already. She has little need of a ruffian general to add to her collection of husbands."

The moment the words were out of her mouth, she bit her tongue. Tasting the metallic taste of blood, she cursed herself. That was none of Bryne's business. Nor was it hers, for that matter. The matter was hearsay besides, and Siuan had little patience for gossip, least of all when it spilled from her own lips. Besides, what did she care if Bryne decided to become the latest member of Myrelle's male harem?

For the briefest of moments, the stubbornly unflappable visage of Gareth Bryne gaped incredulously at Siuan. Her annoyance at her own slip faded into a strange sort of satisfaction at having had stunned the insufferable man speechless. Bryne shook his head as if to clear it, and then smiled wanly. "Well. From now on, I think I'll keep my distance from her. I don't intend to share my wife with any man."

Siuan wanted to laugh at the man's slightly ill expression, to let his worry be her silent revenge on Bryne, but she felt it was only fair she reassure him as he had her. She had no need to leave herself farther indebted to the man. "I wouldn't worry, Bryne," she told him flatly. "Even Myrelle wouldn't bond a man without his permission." Well, she didn't _think_ Myrelle would. Still, there had been…rumors…about how Myrelle had acquired her Nuhel. Rumors that Siuan the Amyrlin had never been able to prove, else she would have had Myrelle's hide for fish bait.

Bryne relaxed visibly and began studying the board again. Siuan didn't bother to stifle the enormous yawn that threatened to dislocate her jaw from its proper joining with her skull. Between these late night stone games and her morning lessons with Nynaeve or Elayne in the World of Dreams, she was lucky she wasn't hallucinating by now. She sat her chin in one hand, staring blankly in front of her. Well, staring blankly at Bryne. Lord Gareth Bryne. He always shaved every morning, but Tairen Lords usually left their chins unshaven, oiling their beards into a neat slick. She tried to picture him with his facial hair like that and nearly giggled aloud. It would never suit the general. The Tairen Lords were a pompous lot, vain and arrogant. Nothing like Gareth Bryne. She rather liked his unshaven look, though. Perhaps, in the morning, she would hide his razor or dull it to the point of uselessness. She had heard one of the servants complaining about her husband's scratchy two-day beard that morning. Siuan touched her cheek and chin absently, wondering if Gareth's stubble would really be that irritating against her skin. Her eyes drooped shut, her musing forming into a half-dream where the table and the stone board were suddenly gone, and his face was only inches away from hers…

"Siuan!" Siuan's eyes flew open. The table and the board were back, but Gareth's face still nearly as close. For a moment, she waited with some impatience and then realized he was not on the verge of kissing her, but was shaking her shoulder in an attempt to wake her. "Wake up, woman! It's your move."

He sat back down and Siuan stared at him, her mind whirling in confusion. What had she been— _Blood and bloody ashes!_ She had been thinking—dreaming even—about…! _Bloody man! _"Of-of course," she stammered, feeling the blood rushing to her face. The man couldn't know what had been going on in her head. It was just a dream, brought on by exhaustion and too much time around Gareth bloody Bryne. That was all. It meant nothing more than those rather embarrassing dresses she kept finding herself donning while in the World of Dreams. She silently prayed that she hadn't been talking in her sleep.

"Siuan?" Bryne's voice held a note of concern as he reached out to tip her chin up with one hand. "Are you okay? You're not—" He frowned at her. He wasn't going to ask her if she was suddenly fighting to find the will to live, of course. But that's what he was thinking.

She pulled away quickly. "I'm fine." Firmly, she shoved the ridiculous dream out of her mind, focused on the board…and sighed in resignation.

The game was over. Oh, there were plenty of moves she could still make, but each one would only bring her closer to her inevitable defeat. With a moan, she laid her head on the stones board, exhausted. She closed her eyes.

Bryne called her name. He nudged her. He shook her by the shoulder. Dimly, she heard him finally murmur words of defeat and his footsteps retreating to his own bed. But she didn't move. She sat there, her cheek pressed into a number of the small, round game pieces, drifting off to sleep. In the morning, she would wake and shout at Bryne for leaving her to sleep in such an awkward state. But for now she melted into his embrace, even if it was only a dream.


End file.
